Phaidros

Plato, 427？ BCE-347？ BCEProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.5

Word count: 179K words
Chapters: 18

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Phaidros by PlatoAuthor: Plato, 427? BCE-347? BCE,Language: Finnish, Class: B: Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, Release Date: May 4, 2019

Editor's review

Phaedrus is one of the most literary and intellectually charged of Plato's middle-period dialogues. In it Socrates and Phaedrus converse beneath a plane tree outside the city, first discussing love and rhetoric, then turning to the famous arguments on the immortality of the soul and divine madness, and finally arriving at the dialectic of writing and memory. Compared with the systematic reasoning of the Republic, this dialogue feels lighter and more fluid, weaving together myth, rhetoric, and philosophical argument, and it is a good entry text for approaching Plato's thought. Note that this edition is a Finnish translation released by Project Gutenberg, not Chinese or English; readers should confirm before purchase that the language suits their reading ability. The e-book is convenient for searching and comparative reading, and suits classroom discussion, book-club selections, or reading alongside the Symposium to understand Plato's thinking on eros and the soul.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Beginners who want to approach Platonic philosophy through a more literary dialogue
Classics students studying rhetoric, writing, and memory
Researchers who need a Finnish Platonic text for language comparison
Book-club members doing thematic reading with the Symposium and the Republic as references

Not a good fit for

Ordinary Chinese readers unfamiliar with Finnish who have not prepared a parallel translation
Beginners expecting a systematic introduction to Platonic philosophy or detailed annotation
Collectors seeking hardcover editions or authoritative critical texts

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the dialogue's thread, then return to close-read the chariot-of-the-soul and divine-madness passages.
If you do not read Finnish, prepare a Chinese or English translation for paragraph-by-paragraph comparison.
Read alongside the Symposium and compare the two dialogues' accounts of eros and the soul.
After finishing, write a short review laying out the contemporary relevance of Socrates' critique of writing.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a Chinese translation?

No. According to the Project Gutenberg page, this edition is in Finnish and is an e-book. Chinese readers need to find a Chinese translation or read Finnish, or use it alongside translations in other languages.

What is Phaedrus mainly about?

The dialogue revolves around love, rhetoric, and the soul, including the famous chariot-of-the-soul allegory, the argument on divine madness and the forms, and the closing discussion of whether writing can replace memory. It combines literary quality with philosophical depth and is one of Plato's middle-period masterworks.

Is the Gutenberg edition suitable for academic citation?

The Gutenberg edition is a free electronic text, convenient for reading and searching, but it generally lacks systematic annotation and critical apparatus. For citation in academic papers, check authoritative critical editions or annotated translations and note the specific edition used.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Plato, 427？ BCE-347？ BCE Author

Plato (c. 427–347 BCE) was an ancient Greek philosopher. Reliable details of his life are limited in public sources, and his thought and writings are generally known through later accounts. The library holds 65 of his works, including the multi-volume Republic (Πολιτεία), the Symposium, and the Phaedo. These works are mostly dialogues with Socrates as the central figure, unfolding through question and answer around justice, the governance of the city, love, the soul, and knowledge, combining philosophical inquiry with dramatic literary form. The Republic, which discusses the ideal city and justice, is especially influential. Plato's style is marked by analogy, argument, and open-ended conclusions, and he has had a lasting influence on later Western philosophy and political thought.